Prince’s Cause of Death Confirmed After Lengthy Investigation

UPDATE (6/2): After more than a month of investigations, authorities have confirmed that Prince died of an opioid overdose, according to The Associated Press. An anonymous source told the AP the case has also been exploring whether a doctor had been prescribing the singer drugs leading up to his death.

A press release later issued by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office (included below) maintains the over-consumption of fentanyl was accidental.

UPDATE (4/22): The autopsy is complete. According to the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, the examination ended at 1 PM local time, and Prince's body will be released to family later today.

https://twitter.com/MidwestMedExam/status/723579513129439232

The medical examination to determine the cause of Prince's death is now underway today (April 22).

According to a press release from the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office released earlier this morning, the autopsy, which is being conducted by Chief Medical Examiner A. Quinn Strobl, began at 9 AM.

"As part of a complete exam, relevant information regarding Mr. Nelson's medical and social history will be gathered. Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into consideration," the release reads.

"Midwest Medical Examiners Office will not release information until the exam is complete and all results are obtained. Gathering the results will take several days and the results of a full toxicology scan could likely take weeks."

The Carver County Sheriff's Office will be holding a press conference today at 1 PM PT (4 PM ET), according to a writer for The Hollywood Reporter. We will update with details from the conference as they emerge.

Prince was discovered unresponsive at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota yesterday morning.